This was not Goldhaar's vision: Maccabi Tel Aviv is far from the owner's goal
The Dutch test of the two greats of Israeli football created at most an illusion of competition, and reminded the owners of Maccabi Tel Aviv of our low ceiling in Europe.
The summary of the loss in Eindhoven, including the proof of Juvanovic's limitations and the question: Is Eran Zehavi already starting to be seven?
Ron Amikam
18/02/2022
Friday, February 18, 2022, 11:30 p.m.
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PSV Eindhoven's 0-1 victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Conference League (Sport 1)
Now that most of the tickets for the rematch between Maccabi Tel Aviv and PSV Eindhoven have been sold this coming Thursday in Bloomfield, it can be said that Maccabi Tel Aviv has made a nice box office given the circumstances.
Eindhoven will probably move on to the next stage, Eran Zehavi - the big story for the Israeli audience - is already playing on the steam in this very boring team, and both teams are reinforcing a result that seems fragile but does not really reflect reality.
Next week there will be more of a gold festival here than a rematch in the playoffs of the eighth round of the Conference League.
Roger Schmidt asked yesterday to get through the game in peace.
A score of 0-1, in an age where there are no more outside goals is a more fragile result, but given the patchwork composition he put into the game, and Mladen Krastic's attempt to take advantage of this patchwork composition - without success - he achieved a reasonable result.
On paper he played without brakes.
Andre Ramallah, the Brazilian midfielder from last summer faded over time, was injured, and has not played since leaving for the winter break, Olivier Buscali the technical brake on the team was yellowed, Armando Obispo who recently entered the rotation was unfit and in that situation Schmidt became two not bad defenders, Jordan Teza and Phillip Max, for the brakes.
Just to sharpen the miss-match, Krestic sent both Fritsa and Juvanovic into the fray, who are actually two goal-scorers, tall, European, who at the end of the day did nothing in the face of the two brake-like figures set by Schmidt.
And Krastic had the audacity to put behind them two depth players like Dan Bitton and Gabi Knikowski, who did try to flirt with the ball here and there, within the limit of what-we-do-in-a-bad-league-Europe, but did not yield the required supply.
And this is when Eindhoven plays without the distant Ibrahim Sangara, 1.91 m of physical strength, who tries to imitate Paul Pogba in the hair style, and that's about where it comes down to,
More on Walla!
Mixed feelings and faith in Maccabi Tel Aviv: "You can move to Bloomfield"
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Again proven: what is enough for the league, far from enough in Europe.
Knikowski (Photo: GettyImages, Prestige / Soccrates)
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There is hope: Maccabi Tel Aviv lost 1: 0 to PSV Eindhoven
Mixed feelings and faith in Maccabi Tel Aviv: "You can move to Bloomfield"
"Miss, PSV had nothing to fear": In the Netherlands they were not impressed with Maccabi Tel Aviv
Mladen Krestajic: "There is a chance, in return we will play open and try to pass a stage"
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Thus, although Maccabi Tel Aviv came up with an offensive line-up, it gave up wings on offense to face the Miss-Match on defense: Balteksa on Noni Madwaka, Nachmias on Cody Gakpo and a combination of Seborit and Shamir (in stationary situations) on Eran Zehavi.
And this is what it looks like: Maccabi with the offensive line loses the center of the field, surrenders in stationary situations, finishes the game with a balance of 6: 1 threats per frame, can not tell any story except for Dan Bitton's free kick that Joel Drummel saved nicely, and especially raises the question : After 10 years of Goldhaar, has the desired second-class establishment been achieved in Europe, or is this the maximum that can be produced with six foreigners within the limits of the Israeli league?
After all, Maccabi Tel Aviv won in this era in Alkmaar, and Maccabi Haifa lost 2-1 to Feyenoord this season - two teams from Eindhoven's rankings, not Ajax's - and it always seems within reach, but not really.
Maccabi does not look like most of the Citadars who are eliminated against Eindhoven on a weekly basis and makes them think they are a Champions League team, but also does not look like a team that if they passed Lask Linz in the end, would threaten the high stages in the third most important factory in Europe.
It could be seen in the stationary situations.
You can put up a high brake trio and add to it Eden Shamir who strangled Zehavi in his presence, and yet what we will remember from this game was the rescue a-Gordon Banks-Mexico 70 by Daniel Peretz from Maduka's shot.
Two slow defenders and a poor physical brake, this is the material from which Krastic produces defense for the game against the runner-up of the Dutch champion, this is also the basic material from which coaches need to lead the national team.
We have not renewed anything here.
To advance in Europe you need two foreign brakes at a high level, less than that and there is nothing to talk about.
On the sidelines, it can be said that Maccabi Tel Aviv's limited offense also cries to heaven.
She does not have a player who moves between the lines - like the 28-year-old Zehavi of the summer of 2015 - who will add value to the strengths that Hacking and Juvanovic have to offer.
And in this matter a break-in last night was much more dominant than Yubanovich, who created situations for himself, and also pressed brakes, and also to move in a passing attack that is usually quite cumbersome - it's beyond his dimensions.
He's a scorer, who lives off balls, and when they do not come, he does not have much to offer beyond.
More on Walla!
"Miss, PSV had nothing to fear": In the Netherlands they were not impressed with Maccabi Tel Aviv
To the full article
This is what can be achieved with an Israeli staff and six foreigners.
Stifa Burglary (Photo: GettyImages, Prestige / Soccrates)
You do not need Eran Zehavi's statistics this season - 9 goals in 29 games (31%), a goal every 200 minutes or so - to see his declining output, relative to what we are used to (this is still high output relative to Israelis on the continent).
Since returning from injury, he has scored in six games, a ball that Vitsa Arnham's defense has left in the middle of the extension.
In players his age - bigger - like Messi, Suarez, or Ronaldo, feel the decline in productivity.
That's the reality, she's probably having a hard time corresponding with a very non-group group like PSV Eindhoven.
With the exception of Gakpo's wide ball, which was stopped at the last minute before reaching Zahavi's touchdown, the balls do not flow to him, but it can be said that he does not flow to them either.
I remember Goldie was hungrier, more frenetic, moving to much more territories.
Zahavi looks more static, his body language conveys satiety from the place.
He can practice the same thing, get to practice every morning before everyone else and go after everyone else, but something in his game joy is hurt.
Zehavi wanted at this stage of his career to continue to show what sets him apart from other Israelis in the last generation: his ability not to get confused, not to choke, and not to do in his pants when he sees a goal, but as we wrote about Juvanovic, a live scorer He is not the goal player, they are the goal players.
The signs cannot be ignored: he is no longer what he used to be.
Gold (Photo: GettyImages, Prestige / Soccrates)
The relatively long breaks in recent years - the corona in China, the two past injuries, especially the last one - have hurt his numbers, his flow.
Returning from a break, integrating, reaching his averages, at the age of 35, is the task of his life.
It is tempting to say that it is better for him to return to Israel at the end of the season, where the atmosphere around him will already do the job, but we must also recognize the reality: we anticipate the end of the career of the greatest player in Israel since Yossi Benyon.
It must not be summed up yet - he will reach 400 goals in his career - but we must acknowledge this and prepare for it.
sport
Israeli soccer
Super League
Tags
Maccabi Tel Aviv in football
Eran Zehavi
PSV Eindhoven
